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arXiv · 2205.09870

Searching for Muonphilic Dark Sectors with Proton Beams

Abstract

Proton beam-dump experiments are a high-intensity source of secondary muons and provide an opportunity to probe muon-specific dark sectors. We adopt a simplified-models framework for an exotic light scalar particle coupling predominantly or exclusively to muons. Equipped with state-of-the-art muon simulations, we compute the sensitivity reach in the parameter space $(m_S, \, g_μ)$ of the dark mediator, examining in detail the examples of the experiment NA62 in beam-dump mode and the proposed experiment SHiP. We find a significant yield of such exotics in the sub-GeV mass range. Our projections are competitive with those of primary muon-beam experiments and complementary to current constraints, spanning uncharted parameter space and accessing new physics potentially responsible for the $(g-2)_μ$ anomaly.

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Claudia Rella, Babette Döbrich, Tien-Tien Yu. 2024-03-21. Searching for Muonphilic Dark Sectors with Proton Beams. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.106.035023

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